The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for making an information processing in accordance with an input coordinate, a program that can be executed on a computer to perform the information processing in accordance with the input coordinate, and a coordinate input method of inputting the coordinate into the information processing apparatus to perform the information processing in accordance with the input coordinate.
Generally, in a personal computer having a touch panel, a tap operation on the touch panel is handled as the same operation as a left button click of a mouse. Therefore, the selection of an object, or the execution of a program can be simply effected only by tapping on the touch panel. However, conventionally, in the case where there is a desire to make the same processing as a right button click of mouse with an operation of the touch panel, it is required to change beforehand the settings such that the tap operation is handled as the right button click. Thereafter, in the case where there is a desire to make the same processing as the left button click of mouse, it is required again to change the settings such that the tap operation is handled as the left button click. In order to appropriately switch between a processing corresponding to the left button click of mouse and a processing corresponding to the right button click, using the tap operation, it is required to change the settings every time.
Thus, to switch between those processings without need of changing the settings, a touch panel system was proposed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-181630 in which if a position instruction for a second coordinate position is made while a first coordinate position is kept in touch on the touch panel, a processing equivalent to the right button click of mouse is effected. Herein, the position instruction means that the position is not only simply contacted but also the coordinate of that position is entered and detected. Accordingly, in a technique proposed in the above patent, it is a requirement for making the processing corresponding to the right button click that the input of the first coordinate position and the input of the second coordinate position are performed at the same time, and detected.
However, with this conventional technique, since the simultaneous input of the first and second coordinate positions is a requirement for making the processing corresponding to the right button click, the touch panel must be capable of accepting the input of two different points at the same time to input the coordinates to effect the processing corresponding to the right button click. Accordingly, a cheap pressure sensitive touch panel capable of inputting a single coordinate at the same time can not be employed, and an expensive touch panel of surface acoustic wave method capable of inputting a plurality of coordinates at the same time must be employed.